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Surgery to Remove My Radial Scar

Back in October I was diagnosed with a radial scar after a mammogram revealed a suspicious shadowy area. A biopsy showed that I had a radial scar and even though it’s considered benign, about 10% of cases do go on to become cancerous so I went with the recommendation to have it removed. Plus, the tissue mass itself can often mask cancerous cells that a biopsy might not pick up so removal with a full pathological work-up is the best course of action.

My procedure started way early in the morning, last Thursday about 6:30 am. I had to go to the Imaging Pavilion for a mammogram to place a guide for the surgeon. I had to have my poor boobs squooshed and numbed with local anesthetic prior to the placement of the guide wire. It hurt a tad even with the local, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

My dad drove me across the street to the surgery center. They whisked me to my own tiny room where I got to hang and watch Law and Order: SVU while the nurses got my IV hooked up and while I waited for the antibiotic to finish administering. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a sedative and before I knew it, I was heading to surgery. The last thing I remember was staring up at the lights on the ceiling.

It’s so weird to have that missing block of time. I teach pharmacology so I know the effects of the components of the anesthetic cocktail. But it’s one thing to teach about it and another to actually live it. I hadn’t been under general anesthesia since I had my wisdom teeth out when I was 19 and I don’t even remember it at all.

I woke up back in another small room, drank some juice and 2 cups of water while I recovered from the anesthetic. I can’t remember how long I was in recovery but it didn’t seem like more than 30-45 minutes. I was thirsty as heck and starving.

Dad came and got me and he bought me breakfast at Village Inn. I felt a little embarrassed to go to a public place dressed like I was in yoga pants, slippers, and a shirt with no bra but I still had the hospital bracelet on and the gauze on my hand from where the IV was placed and I was so damn hungry that I didn’t really worry about it. I ate an order of pumpkin pancakes, 6 pieces of bacon, several cups of decaf, and almost an entire carafe of water.

The surgeon gave me a prescription for hydrocodone but I never filled it. Didn’t really need to. I was a little sore later Thursday afternoon but nothing that ibuprofen couldn’t handle. The incision is still pretty wicked looking but hopefully that will subside as the healing process continues.

I’ve been wearing a sports bra day and night and I think that’s been helping with the pain. I’ve also been sleeping a lot since Thursday LOL Slept until 10 am Friday and took a 2 hour nap. Slept in Saturday and relaxed most of the day. Might see if my body can handle a little bit of exercise tomorrow. Nothing too vigorous, just a little time on my stair stepper machine. It doesn’t require the use of my arms so it should be okay. I just can’t stand this much inactivity LOL But I also know a healing body needs rest so I’m trying not to push too much.

Hopefully the results from the pathology come back a negative and I won’t ever have another radial scar show up on any future mammograms. But I’m thankful that this was caught early and that the worst I’ll get from the experience is a scar.

hi there, i found your blog while googling for info about my radial scar. i am still waiting for the core needle biopsy results, but during that procedure my radiologist said “either way this has to come out, so prepare yourself mentally…” which seemed pretty blanket-statementy. 🙂 i wondered if you would tell me whether your doctors offered any non-surgical/observation options since the RS was shown to be benign (i do know it can hide cancer cells in a small percentage of patients)? it just seems like not a lot is known about RS and they do surgery automatically. i am curious to hear if anyone has been offered other options. so far no one has. thanks so much, and glad to hear your experience wan’t too bad!

My surgeon said it has to come out. It’s one of those things that the minor surgery to remove the benign radial scar is preferable to leaving it there and taking the risk. The problem is, you won’t know if it will become cancerous or not until it actually *does* become cancerous, which means surgery, radiation treatment, and maybe chemotherapy if there’s metastasis. It’s the same thing as having pre-cancerous actinic keratosis (pre-cancerous skin lesions) removed before they can turn into cancer. Please reply with how your surgery goes!!! ❤

No, but they CAN hide cancerous cells int heir radial arms which is why they need to be removed. And in about 20% of cases, they can become cancerous. Better to have something benign removed if it’s potentially a ticking time bomb

Hi, Dr. Shay and Kate G, I too was just diagnosed with an RS and was told it needs to be removed. Hope to hear from you both about observation. My doctor said RS’s are not related to hormone changes but I can’t help but wonder if watching and ongoing mammograms are better than surgery. Thanks, barbara – barbara@c-squaredpr.com

That’s a big no to more mammograms. Those in and of themselves can potentially lead to mutations that could lead to cancer. The surgery really is minimally invasive and I didn’t have to take anything more than ibuprofen for the pain. My wisdom tooth surgery was way worse! LOL It’s just not worth the risk of the radial scar becoming cancerous in the future. Get it out before it has the chance to do more harm. Let me know how your surgery goes!! ❤

Thanks for your replies…turns out it was invasive lobular after all. Not too big, low grade, lymph nodes clear thankfully…But just had second excision today to ensure clear margins on the bottom.love the idea of second sports bra for support and the small ice packs…Thank you!!

Hello: thanks for sharing your experience. I will be having three radial scars removed in a couple of weeks. Two biopsies were required. The first was not bad as it was guided by ultrasound, I was on my back and it was pretty quick with minimal discomfort. The second was much more involved and very uncomfortable. Because of the scar’s location, only an MRI could show it. I was face down with my left breast compressed for most of an hour. All three radial scars tested as benign.

I still think it has to be better than what cancer patients go through. My surgeon said that she will be removing some of the surrounding cells since the radial scars can hide cancer.

I am hoping that the removal won’t be too bad. A wire will be inserted on the morning of surgery, as with you and I know that will be the most uncomfortable. There is already an S-clip for two of the spots.

None of these were apparent on last year’s annual mammogram, but this year the mammogram technology took a leap forward, at least where I go. It now shows the breast tissue in more detail. I also have dense breast tissue, which can hide abnormalities. As I am in my early 50s, I guess I am prime age for such things regardless of family history and/or any genes predisposing one to breast cancer.

Greeting! Mu surgery was yesterday. I am a little uncomfortable, but not bad. Last night I did take a Percocet. The prescription was to take two at a time, but the nurses, doctor and pharmacies said that it was best to take one and see how I feel. It knocked me out.

The left breast, I imagine will be the most difficult to heal. The surgeon said that she had to dig around in it more than expected. That’s what my sister told me. I was still out when the doctor talked to her in the waiting area. She also told me that they had trouble waking me. So, I am sure that I will learn more.

I imagine that the left side was more challenging because the radial scar was a challenge to locate to begin with: dense breast tissue, size (2 CMS) that meant its arms radiated out more, and probably location, location, location. The two on the right were smaller and located right next to each other.

If anyone is in the northeastern Pennsylvania area and needs to have this done, I recommend the team at Geisinger CMC in Scranton. They’re very personable, professional and caring. I cannot say enough good things about them.

Nothing was said about using cold on the areas as was required after the biopsies. I’m using some a little this morning, especially on the left.

I had my follow-up to surgery yesterday. It would have been sooner, but both she (the surgeon) and I had to reschedule a time or two. The testing on the removed radial scars revealed no cancer. There were a few cells near the ones in the right breast that are abnormal, specifically some type of hyperplasia, which can increase the chance of cancer four- fold. So, as the surgeon said, I’ll be married to the clinic for the rest of my life, aka, I will see her every 6 months.

hey ladies, just remembering to post my update, in case anyone else is reading these for info on a pending surgery. i went ahead and had my RS removed on september 30 by a breast surgery specialist at UCLA breast center. she was excellent. the surgery was pretty easy and recovery was quick. i, too. didn’t need to fill the pain med prescription and only used only acetaminophen (and later ibuprofen) for the pain. i’d say the most uncomfortable part of my experience was that they put a guide wire in my breast first, then took a mammogram (with a wire sticking out of my breast haha) in the hour prior to the surgery. i didn’t need anything to sedate me before going into the OR, so when i work up i was feeling pretty good and started doing some work on my phone in bed in recovery. 🙂 i drank 3 cups of water with ice chips, then the nurse told me i couldn’t have any more until i got home. 🙂 she was worried i would get nauseous from the sedative they gave me during the procedure, but i went out for lunch on the way back and all was good. luckily! everything has healed well, and the only weird thing was when i “spit” a stitch, along with the suture knot, about a week ago. that’s normal apparently it but surprised me. i sterilized the area and some tweezers, and gently pulled and it came right out. left a little hole (which is standard) and i just kept it clean and applied antibiotic and bandaid as needed, everything looks good! thanks for your help and support! here’s to cancer free breasts for all of us!
cheers
kate

I will be going in to have my radial scar removed. Just found out yesterday that the biopsy revealed the benign radial scar. Doctor said it must come out. Haven’t spoken to the surgeon yet. I was so happy to find this page to hear about others experiencing the same thing. I was worried about the procedure, but was glad to find out it is an out-patient thing and not that bad. So thank you ladies, for putting my mind more at ease.

Had my surgery on Jan 12. Was very nervous going in especially about the wire placement, however, that wasn’t bad at all, it was faster than the core needle biopsy. Surgery went well and pathology showed everything benign. I am so relieved as this has been a 2 month ordeal. Am still recovering and still sore. I am older, (64) so I’m not sure if that is why it’s taking longer. My incision is still leaking fluid, but the doctor says that is normal. My incision is on the underside of my breast and right on my bra line and moving my arm seems to aggravate the incision, not to mention my bra. Like most others I was given a prescription for pain meds but only needed Tylenol. I will be glad when I don’t have to wear a bra 24/7 anymore and I am back to normal.

I too am glad to have found this blog. Just this evening I learned the results of my breast biopsy. I have a radial scar that will need to be removed. My doc is referring me to a surgeon. I’m a bit stunned. I know it is good news but it’s been a heck of a medical year for me. The latest being I just had carpal tunnel release surgery two days ago and now facing another surgery soon. It helps to read all of your stories. Thank you all.

I also need to have radical scar tissue removed…this will be done 1/5/17….I am alittle nervous, but sure it will be ok…..how long did the actual surgery last?? I’m assuming you went home several hours after surgery…..I fought this at first, as I wanted to wait for next mammogram to see if there were any changes…..but have since changed my mind….

I would definitely have the surgery rather than waiting. The smaller the radial scar the easier the surgery 🙂 I went into the imaging center at 7 (had to place the guide wire) and was at the surgery center by 8:30.Then there was pre-op (given antibiotics and sedative) then the OR after that. I don’t honestly remember the time I went in as the sedatives were in full effect 😉 Recovery was actually fast and I was ready to leave in about 45 minutes. That was around 11:30 or noon maybe? Dad took me to go eat a huge breakfast at Village Inn LOL I didn’t even fill the prescription for the opioid pain meds as ibuprofen did fine for the pain

I just received biopsy results via family doctor and also health system web notification. I also have a benign radial scar diagnosis. Total finding was:- benign breast parenchyma with radial scar, ductal hyperplasia and columnar cell change. I will follow through with removal. Shocked to see so many with this issue when sites state it’s very rare. Do have concerns about more of these forming.

I sometimes worry about more of them forming, though my surgeon says that the women he’s removed radial scars from never get more (or at least as far as he knows LOL). Reply and so we can give you some moral support for your surgery 🙂

Thnaks you so much! Had surgical consult this past week and surgery in three weeks! Surgeon says it should be just fine! My hardest part so far is hearing I’ll need to wear a bra 24/7 for 10 days! 😊 Optimistic that pathology will be just fine!

Hi Shay,
I just got diagnosed with RS and they told me about the size of a golf ball would be removed. Most of what I have been reading is about 1cm-this would be quite a bit larger. It just seems strange that they could remove this much tissue and not need reconstruction. Surgery consult is next week. Any experience with the mass being this large?

I’m honestly not sure how large mine is but while the center part of the radial scar might only be a few centimeters, it has these “arms” that radiate out (what makes it look like cancer) and infiltrate other tissue. When they remove it, they have to take the entire thing (arms and all) as radial scars can sometimes go on to become cancerous

Have just had 3D mammogram, ultrasound and core biopsy under ultrasound in three places after noticing a sudden change in my left breast. The breast surgeon couldn’t feel anything, and nothing was visible on the mammogram, but because of the indentation on the one side of the breast, he’s investigating further. on ultrasound, a lesion was visible in the area where the breast has indented. He mentioned the possibility of a radial scar – just wondering if anyone else had externally visible breast changes?

Thanks for all your posts ladies – as you well know, your mind runs wild while you’re waiting to find out – it is a comfort to read of the experiences of others…I get my pathology results next Monday and the surgeon said we’ll discuss treatment options from there. I’m guessing that one way or another I’ll need surgery.

How long is post op recovery? I am a high school teacher in Australia and starting our new school year Tuesday…

Hi Denise, The evening after surgery and the whole next day I kept icing the site. I didn’t drive any where because of the anesthesia (took just over 24 hrs to clear), but I worked from home and kept icing in the meantime. I was icing every day for the next few days and I only took Tylenol to stay ahead of the pain. I really think the ice helped. Anything flat, frozen and in plastic worked great. If you get smaller packs you can slide it inside the sports bra and it stays in place. Change packs when it thaws out. if you have an oversized top on, it should hide the ice pack. I wore a sports bra for the first two days, then added a second one for added support and have stayed with the two since. I feel like it has really helped keep the swelling down and enabled me to get right back to work. I really only took the day of surgery off, then worked from home on day-1 post-op. Back to work post-op day 2 onward. No heavy lifting on that side for a week so far. Hope this helps.
Susan

Hello! I had my surgery last Friday. Surgery scheduler said it would be local anes. with mild sedation but it ended up being general anesthesia. Surgery went well. Was a little too active on Friday evening and Saturday and paid for that on Sunday/Monday. Pain has been very minimal (about 2 inch scar across top of breast) and have taken only half a pain pill at bed time for mild discomfort. Wearing a bra 24/7 has caused MAJOR discomfort. 😉 Overall, not too much of an inconvenience to have it removed. Best of all….results were BENIGN! No malignancy and considered residual scar tissue. Surgical follow up next week and DONE!

I’m so happy for these results!!!! It’s definitely a load off to find out that everything is benign and probably won’t ever come back again 🙂 And for me, the pain was super minimal. I was lucky enough to be able to have my surgery over winter break so I didn’t have to work and could take it easy

I had my surgery a week ago and all went well. I also had general anesthesia and although I went out for dinner after being released, it was really tough to walk a straight line. After affects of the anesthesia which went away in just over 24 hours. The other thing I did was start icing the site that evening and all day following. That helped keep swelling down and bruising down. The incision was about 2″ long and went in also about 2″. The radial scar was about 8mm plus margins. I never took the heavy duty pain meds–just Tylenol and icing the area.

When I came home from the hospital, I was wrapped with an ace bandage which started slipping down. That night I changed to a medium support sports bra–no hardware–and it worked better. Day 2 after surgery I was feeling pretty good and went out with a girlfriend for my birthday instead of icing it all day, and felt the difference. Got home, iced the area and put on a second medium support sports bra over the first and got much needed added support. I felt it made a big difference in keeping the swelling and discomfort down. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to the 2 sportsbras from the beginning. Just one over the other worked really well and I could sleep in them without a problem.

Got the biopsy back and it was all benign. The diagnosis was scary and lead up to the surgery nerve wracking, but I am glad it is over and it is just 6 month mammogram checkups from here.

Well I guess it’s my turn. 🙃 Just diagnosed with radial scar yesterday and appt with breast surgeon Monday. The biopsy will be done at SLU, St Louis Univ. using (they tell me) a new device, the only one in the nation. I’d been having off and on very light breast pain so when they called me back in after the 3D mammogram I was scared. They have assured me the large majorities are benign but are almost always removed.

So sorry to hear you’re going through this. Even though radial scars are benign (usually) they can harbor abnormal cells that can become cancerous later. Best to have it out and be done with it! Keep us posted!

The breast surgeon said without the biopsy I should not have been told it was a radial scar. So my results were benign with no surgery needed. I must repeat mammogram in 6 months. I wasn’t told “what” it was, only benign results. Thanks for the kind words.

I am seeing a surgeon on Monday to talk about the Radial Scar found via a MRI guide biopsy. i am told that most are benign but still a worried as my mother had breast cancer and die at age 59 five years later. I have had kidney cancer and thyroid cancer two years ago. i am trying to stay positive.

i had my RS removed on Tuesday and will go on the 17th for my results. painful and sleepy for 1-2 after. not bad though the nerves were worse for my husband. I will keep you posted and I am remaining positive.

Brenda, Think positive thoughts! The technology can find things now that they couldn’t a few years ago. Digital mammography is light years ahead of the old xray. My Mom and an aunt had breast cancer–and my biopsy came back benign. Try not to worry until they tell you otherwise. The surgery and recovery is really not bad. I used ice on the incision and never needed pain meds.

I had surgery to remove radial scar during April 2017. I found it a bit scary being in hospital and inserting the needle with a mammogram awkward but not really painful. No real plain after surgery but my breast was itchy. Took Advil and Tylenol. Surgery was on Wednesday and I took Thursday and Friday off from my teaching job. I probably could have gone to work on Friday. My surgeon’s nurse called two days ago and the tissue was benign. Follow up in a couple days. The hardest part was waiting for results and for all the procedures and doctor visits. This all started with a routin mammogram during Feb. so it’s been 2-3 months of worry. Good luck to all.

Dr. I just received my core biopsy report today. The report shows Adenosis with scarring, calcification and tissue distortion. I was also told after mammogram and ultrasound I had very dense breast tissue. I had lung cancer in 2012. Would this previous cancer increase my risk of this scar hiding any cancerous tissue? I have been referred to a breast oncology surgeon.

Thank you so much for this sight. Reading all of your experiences has helped me so much. Everything I was reading showed a radial scar as a very rare finding.

I’ve recently had 3 core biopsy’s and 2 vacuum assisted biopsy’s. The last biopsy left me with a large painful haematoma. I’m due to go in for a Radial Scar removal shortly and dreading it. I’ve never had an operation in my life before. Its helped reading all the above comments. Thank you

Curious of the final pathology report after removal of your radial scar.
I am going in tomorrow for my radial scar and am sick over it. My biopsy was benig, but I can’t help worrying if something is hiding.